"Rowen! Can you handle all these guys?" Luffy asked with concern, watching Rowen step forward to face the Alvida Pirates alone.
"Don't worry. Dealing with trash ? My abilities are way more efficient than yours for this, Luffy," Rowen replied, a confident smirk playing on his lips. The dark, crimson-black light in his eyes seemed to shimmer faintly.
"Trash? You got some nerve, brat! Think you're 'Pirate Hunter' Zoro or something?" Alvida snarled, veins bulging on her forehead. Combined with her boar-like features, she looked even more grotesque.
Right now, 'Pirate Hunter' Zoro's reputation among East Blue pirates was formidable.
Even pirates with bounties in the tens of millions were wary of him.
"Zoro? Of course not. But..."
Rowen's eyes suddenly sharpened. The next instant, the terrifying crimson-black light within them solidified, erupting outwards with insane ferocity.
"Remember this name—'Sky Sovereign' Rowen! The man who will, in the future, stand above all!"
Conqueror's Haki exploded outwards.
Crackling arcs of crimson-black energy roared through the air.
Every single member of the Alvida Pirates caught in this terrifying blast—including Alvida herself—froze with looks of utter horror.
The next moment, their eyes rolled back into their heads, and they collapsed, unconscious.
Bodies littered the deck.
The entire Alvida Pirate crew was wiped out in an instant.
Under the pressure of Conqueror's Haki, the weak don't even have the right to look directly upon a King!
The crimson-black light in Rowen's eyes gradually subsided.
"SUUUUGEEEEEE!!!" (AMAZING!!!)
Luffy stared, jaw dropped, as Rowen took out the entire Alvida crew—including that rude old lady—with just a look.
His eyes went wide, and he started yelling excitedly.
Got to admit, Luffy really knew how to provide positive reinforcement for his comrades.
Seeing Luffy's exaggerated amazement, combined with the feeling of unleashing Conqueror's Haki for the first time, left Rowen feeling pretty damn good.
"But... I feel like I've seen that power before. When I was little, something happened too," Luffy mused after his initial burst of excitement, a thoughtful, faraway look in his eyes.
He remembered when he and his brothers were captured by some thugs. Just when he was in danger, the thugs had suddenly fainted.
"That's called Conqueror's Haki. Under its influence, anyone with a weak will instantly passes out," Rowen explained calmly, looking at Luffy.
Luffy was likely remembering the time 'Fire Fist' Portgas D. Ace first awakened his own Conqueror's Haki to protect young Luffy from danger.
But afterwards, Ace, disgusted that this power came from the bloodline he despised—that of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger—completely sealed it away.
Rowen wouldn't judge Ace's actions.
He wasn't Ace; he hadn't lived through Ace's suffering. He wouldn't stand on high from an outsider's perspective and casually say, "It's foolish not to use the power you have."
After all, for Ace, his mother died because the Marines were relentlessly hunting Roger's bloodline.
And throughout his childhood, because of that same bloodline, he was shunned by everyone, treated as someone who shouldn't even exist.
In modern terms from Rowen's old world, it was a classic case of childhood trauma stemming from his family background. Ace just wanted to escape that influence.
But if he hadn't sealed away his Conqueror's Haki, given Ace's potential, he likely wouldn't have met the tragic end he did in the original story.
Ultimately, Ace just didn't have the disposition—the Kingly Spirit—required.
However, for Rowen, Ace's choice, and the upcoming Summit War, were extremely advantageous.
Whitebeard—the man known as the 'World's Strongest Man'—was undoubtedly the current figurehead of the Pirate Faction.
When his era ended, how much stronger would Rowen become thanks to his Faction Fortune (Apex Gold) Trait? Rowen eagerly anticipated finding out.
Furthermore, Rowen was absolutely determined to acquire Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
The difference between top-tier Devil Fruits and garbage ones was greater than the difference between humans and pigs.
That early notion—likely born from insufficient information—of "There are no useless Devil Fruits, only useless users," had long been debunked by later events in the story.
The inherent potential cap of each Devil Fruit ability was clearly defined.
A fruit's power depended fundamentally on the fruit itself, supplemented at most by the user's stamina and physique (since activating abilities consumes the user's energy).
The fact that Sabo, immediately after eating the Flare-Flare Fruit, could wield its power at a level equal to, or even greater than, Ace's was clear proof.
But for any given Devil Fruit user, their power ceiling based solely on the fruit was fixed the moment they ate it. Further growth relied on mastering Haki and other skills.
A powerful Devil Fruit, upon being eaten, could instantly elevate someone to at least the level of a Warlord.
The reason Whitebeard was called the man capable of destroying the world was solely due to the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
Rowen had no intention of letting Blackbeard snatch such a Supreme Devil Fruit.
The Summit War—Rowen absolutely had to participate.
Starting now, he needed to get stronger, fast, so he could claim the biggest prize during that pivotal conflict.
A determined glint shone in Rowen's eyes.
"But Rowen, when you said you're gonna stand above all... that sounded really cool! 'Sky Sovereign' Rowen... Shishishi! That's a great nickname!" Luffy exclaimed. At this point, he didn't grasp the true significance of Conqueror's Haki; he was far more interested in Rowen's declaration.
"The Pirate King's first mate—the man known as the 'Right Hand of the Pirate King'—his epithet was 'Dark King'. Since you aim to be the Pirate King, I figured 'Sky Sovereign' would be a fitting title for me, as your comrade," Rowen explained with a smile.
It wasn't that Rowen was being overly dramatic just for show. This was his debut on the world stage, essentially.
And everyone knew, in the world of One Piece, the shutters of the World Economic News Agency's cameras were everywhere.
Rowen naturally wanted a relatively cool-sounding epithet for himself.
Otherwise, who knew what kind of ridiculous nickname those Marine guys might slap on him later?
Rowen's method for choosing was simple. The Pirate King's Right Hand, Silvers Rayleigh, was the 'Dark King' (Meiō - Underworld King/Pluto).
The three Ancient Weapons in the One Piece world were 'Pluton' (Meiō - Underworld King), 'Poseidon' (Kaiō - Sea King), and 'Uranus' (Ten'ō - Sky King/Heavenly King).
'Dark King/Pluton' was taken by Rayleigh. 'Sea King/Poseidon', for someone else.
That left 'Sky King/Uranus' (Ten'ō). It sounded good. 'Sky Sovereign' was a suitable adaptation.
His declaration about standing above all in the future also served as a neat explanation for the epithet's origin.
Furthermore, this was also a test for Rowen.
—[Detected increase in bond with equipping target. Trait equipping progress increased.]—
A line of text appeared on the notification screen, making the corner of Rowen's mouth curve upwards slightly.
~# Keep the Chapters coming — Support with Power Stones!
~# Every 200 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter